Present (via Zoom): Thomas, Rosie, Marieke, Dafydd, Lily, Cat, Dietrich, Aethelwulf, Leo, Alaxandr, Eleanor, Katherine, (and Medhbh, Kingdom Seneschal, listening in.)

Our next Business Meeting will be Sunday, April 24, at 1 pm.

All SCA in-person meetings and events are still on hold. (Update: this hold has been extended until Jan. 31 at least.)

Fencing Report: Lily has gotten, or will get, the fencing equipment approved at an earlier meeting. Mask expanders have already been purchased, and can be reimbursed by the Kingdom as a Covid expense.

Exchequer Report:

1. We have as much money in our coffers as we did before, and it’s sufficient for our current needs.

2. Katherine reminds everybody who wants to purchase things, that there are supply chain issues, so get stuff while you can. She can provide advance funds, or reimburse you based on your receipts.

3. She also reminded us of a Society rule that items can’t be donated to the shire in exchange for something else. Donations have to be without strings or quid-pro-quo arrangements. Donations should be reported to our Exchequer.

4.  We are supposed to keep inventory lists of shire equipment. Currently these are de-centralized, with different people keeping lists for their areas. Katherine suggests that we put these lists on the Shire Google Drive, and/or Marieke can put them on the Shire’s website.

Heavy List Report: Fighting practice was going well until we got shut down. One of our new-ish fighters, Snoot, has been making his own set of armor with Dietrich. Aethelwulf has received some very useful donations of armor, helms and weapons from Dafydd and Aidan. Alaxander will also donate a helm. As a result, we now need different items from what we had ordered before from Dark Victory Armory, so Dietrich says we now are carrying a credit until we reassess our armor needs. We still need armor in large and extra-large sizes. Tearlach suggested that we make some Northern Army shields. Thomas has some 16-gauge sheet metal panels that could be useful. Dietrich also mentioned that we should invest in some sport-foam padding, to make the armor-bits more comfortable.

Archery Report: It’s winter! Eleanor mentioned our arrow-making jig, and the eventual need to get some shafts, but it’ll be a few months before anybody’s shooting outdoors again.

Arts and Sciences Report: Rosie reported that Dietrich held an armor-making workshop in December. “Second Sunday” A&S sessions will continue, on-line for now. Findabhair’s monthly in-person A&S meetings are on hold due to Covid restrictions. Making Queen’s Favors – does anybody want to head up this project?

Freehold Events: Eleanor said she wouldn’t be submitting a bid for Mimir’s Well this spring; the Covid situation makes it feel unwise. Rosie wondered whether an online event could be organized – perhaps “Thirteenth Night”? Any volunteers to take on Feast of Fools later in the spring? We had earlier considered a festive seasonal pot-luck at one of our winter practices, but with the shut-down, that’s not going to happen.

Social Media Officer: Thomas explained that this position could be handy for us to fill as a Freehold office. Currently, since there’s nobody doing it, the duties fall to him as seneschal. Our new Kingdom Social Media Officer is Lady Astridr. If you’re curious, the SCA Social Media Policy is here: https://www.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Society-Social-Media-Policy-April-2021.pdf

Web Minister Report: Marieke has refreshed some of the photos on the website, and is looking for more – if you have something suitable, send it to her. (There may be some paperwork involved, for permissions.)

Chatelain Report: Leo has started writing “Chatelain’s Corner” emails to the group, to help people make connections and share resources. He also plans to write “Spotlight” articles on Freeholders who want to discuss their personas and what they find inspiring in the SCA. He reminds us to “Always Be Chatelaining” – it’s something we all need to help with. We discussed the idea of promoting “Shire Pride” and discovered that the term means different things to different people – we will find another way to express the concept. But the idea remains, that we need to find ways to show group cohesiveness, and foster a sense of belonging. Things like belt favors, shire recognitions, and newcomer classes could help. If you have any ideas or suggestions that would help get us new members, or encourage the ones we currently have, Leo would love to hear them.

Demos: Continuing the Chatelain theme, Leo considered various upcoming PR opportunities.

  1. With the Covid In-Person Activity Freeze, it looks like we won’t be able to help with the Winter Renaissance Faire on Feb. 9.
  2. Katherine and Dietrich mentioned that there might be a Renaissance Faire sponsored by the Swanton Arts Council, next August or September. It’s way too soon for details, but they would be very happy to have the Freehold there.
  3. Panther Vale would appreciate our assistance with the summer Renfaire in Stowe.
  4. Katherine asked Leo for some paper handouts that she can distribute at an upcoming event at the end of January.
  5. Katherine also mentioned that there are opportunities to put up a static display to advertise the SCA. The I-89 Welcome Centers in Williston and Georgia are seeking Vermont-related clubs to fill some display cases. Dietrich knows of a bank that has a free display case for community activities.
  6. Dietrich has a coupon for 250 free business cards, that could also be useful to hand out at demos.
  7. We briefly discussed putting together a “demo kit in a box” as well as creating an informational banner, and perhaps a freestanding tri-fold panel with info about the Freehold and the SCA.

Seneschal’s Report: Thomas had a few things to bring up.

  1. Facebook Page: We have 5 or 6 administrators. Are there too many or too few, and are they at the right level? New members seem to be approved speedily, when appropriate.
  2. Jeff Folb, who is in charge of the Winter and the Summer Rennfaires, apparently doesn’t care whether PV or Freehold or both together are handling the demos at those events as long as we have it sorted out amongst ourselves, and communicate with him about our intended involvement. The Summer Renfaire is in PV territory, the Winter Renfaire is in Freehold territory. Panther Vale has requested our assistance with the next Summer Renfaire. Last year, some Freeholders helped out there. The area where kids were able to take a whack at the “Manny” mannequin, was fun and successful, except that next time we need better barriers to control the kids, so they don’t run up randomly. We could make barriers with rope strung between rebar stakes.

Chancellor Minor Report: Somebody asked whether we could do online classes to keep kids involved. Eleanor replied that we can’t invite minors to view or participate in our various live online sessions because it’s not possible to ensure the two-deep model of supervision. However, pre-recorded videos of classes are fine for minors to view. (Note: Our Kingdom Chancellor Minor offers a series of taped classes called Tyger Camp. They can be accessed through this link: https://chancellorminor.eastkingdom.org/tygercamp/ )

The meeting ended after an hour and a half.

Notes by Marieke